Venus and Moon Shine Bright in Stargazers' Photos

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The serene glow of the pre-dawn sky Thursday (Jan. 10) proved the
perfect setting for two stargazers to capture dazzling images of
the crescent moon and Venus.

Venus and the moon shined close together before sunrise Thursday,
with the dazzlingly bright planet appearing to the lower right of
the slender crescent of the moon low in the southeastern sky.
With Venus
moving out of the morning sky, it was a celestial farewell
of sorts for the planet and the moon that some stargazers
couldn’t miss.

"When I got to my location I could hear the sounds of the
roosters crowing at the farm nearby and the moon and Venus were
already big and bright and shining brilliantly through the warm
morning glow," observer Scott Tully told SPACE.com via email.
Tully captured his beautiful image of the moon and Venus over
rural Connecticut.

Despite cloudy skies, photographer Greg Diesel
Walck also managed to take a spectacular shot of the
moon and Venus over Currituck, N.C., using a Sony Alpha 65 camera
with a 495mm of zoom, ISO 1600 and shutter 1/8 second exposure.
His close-up view shows the moon as a slim grin in the night sky,
with Venus shining bright nearby. [ Amazing
Night Sky Photos for January ]

"I knew the timing of the sunrise, moonrise, Venus was going to
be good, however it was somewhat cloudy. I kept running out
to check the horizon and it paid off in this shot I call 'Morning
Charade,'" Walck explained in an email.

Stargazers hoping to see Venus in the early morning sky should
plan to rise well before dawn in the next few weeks. By the end
of January, the planet will rise over the horizon during the
mid-twilight of sunrise, making it hard to see. By Feb. 1, Venus
will be completely lost in the sun’s light.

Venus will return as a bright night sky object in late April,
when it will be visible in the evening sky. The planet won’t
appear near the moon, however, until Sept. 8.

Meanwhile, another bright planet is also clearly visible to
stargazers this month, and you don’t have wake up in the wee
hours to see it.

Jupiter is currently shining bright in the evening sky in the
constellation Taurus. It rises in the eastern sky and sets in the
northwest at around 3 a.m. your local time.
Jupiter and the moon will have a close rendezvous on Jan. 21,
promising a dazzling for observers with clear, dark skies.

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing photo
of Venus and the moon, or any other night sky object,
that you'd like to share for a possible story or image
gallery, send photos, comments and your name and location to
managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.